BRUSSELS — David Sassoli, a former Italian journalist-turned-skilled-politician who rose to become president of the European Parliament, died early Tuesday morning in Italy, his spokesman announced.

       Sassoli, 65, had been hospitalized since Dec. 26 after suffering a “dysfunction of the immune system,” spokesman Roberto Cuillo said. He had been struggling with health issues for months and was first hospitalized with a serious case of pneumonia in September.

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       “Our Union loses a passionate European, a sincere democrat and a good man,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said in a statement Tuesday. “David Sassoli was a man of deep faith and strong convictions. Everyone loved his smile and his kindness, yet he knew how to fight for what he believed in.”

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       First elected to the European Parliament in 2009, Sassoli, an Italian socialist, was set to complete his first term as president in the coming days. The parliament was already going to elect his successor next week in France.

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       The European Parliament is one of the three main bodies of the European Union and represents nearly 450 million European citizens. The parliament comprises more than 700 elected members from the 27 countries in the bloc, and one of its major responsibilities is to shape the European Union’s budget.

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       Sassoli’s 2？-year tenure as president was defined by the pandemic, and he spent much of it working virtually. He was instrumental in passing the European Union’s ambitious $2.1 trillion pandemic relief fund and the bloc’s seven-year budget. The budget was ultimately one aimed at rescuing the economies of countries hit hard by the coronavirus, and its passage required overcoming deep-seated divisions on the extent to which rich European Union nations should commit to helping poorer ones.

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       When Sassoli was elected president in 2019, he said in his speech that the European Union must be able to “respond more strongly to the needs of our citizens and give real answers to their concerns.”

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       “We are immersed in momentous transformations: youth unemployment, migration, climate change, the digital revolution, the new world balance, just to name a few, which need new ideas and courage,” he said at the time.

       Sassoli is survived by his wife and two children. His spokesman, Cuillo, said the date and location of his funeral would soon be announced.

       The European Union flew the flags outside its Brussels headquarters at half-staff Tuesday in honor of Sassoli.

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